Drug Facts

In today's society drug addiction and drug abuse are a rising epidemic. It is beneficial to you and those you care about to know the Drug Facts that are plaguing your cities and towns. It is surprising how many individuals are unaware of how alcohol affects the body or marijuana's differing side effects on men and women. Drug addiction is a problem that no one wants to acquire, but unfortunately many do. Once you know Drug Facts you will be able to make more informed decisions and help others around you to do the same. Below are Drug Facts about common drugs of addiction; additionally, there are individual pages filled with Drug Facts about each individual drug referenced below.

Fast Drug Facts. Did you know…?

• Benzoylecognine, a metabolite unique to cocaine, can be detected in the urine 2-4 days. The disruption to brain chemistry can remain for much longer. Individuals who have become dependent on cocaine will feel intense cravings for cocaine long after use has ceased making recovery difficult.
• Even first time users of cocaine may experience seizures or heart attacks, which can be fatal. Crack can also make you violent or even make you do bizarre repetitive motions. Some users sit and repetitively draw doodles or, in severe cases, pick at their skin over and over to try to get the bugs out they think are underneath.
• Research links Ecstasy use to long-term damage to those parts of the brain critical to thought and memory. One study, in primates, showed that exposure to Ecstasy for 4 days caused brain damage that was evident 6 to 7 years later.
• In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in vital organs.
• Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have. These individuals may have daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. Continuing to smoke marijuana can lead to abnormal functioning of the lungs and airways. Scientists have found signs of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke.
• Meth has become the most dangerous drug problem of small-town America. Traffickers make and distribute the drug in some of our country's most rural areas. Twelve to fourteen year olds that live in smaller towns are 104% more likely to use meth than those who live in larger cities.
• If a patient decides after several months on methadone maintenance to discontinue it, the detox is generally longer and more painful.
• A plaintiffs group in Washington, D.C., has filed a $5.2 billion lawsuit against Purdue Pharma LP and Abbott Laboratories Inc. charging the drug companies with allegedly failing to warn patients the painkiller OxyContin is dangerously addictive.